As aliens in the world, we live to serve God.

 

Sermon for Trinity 21, October 18, 2026

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

1 Peter 2:11-17  ¹¹Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and temporary residents in the world, to abstain from the desires of the sinful flesh, which war against your soul.  ¹²Live an honorable life among the Gentiles so that even though they slander you as evildoers, when they observe your noble deeds, they may glorify God on the day he visits us.  ¹³Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the king as the supreme authority ¹⁴or to governors as those who have been sent by him to punish those who do what is wrong and to praise those who do what is right.  ¹⁵For this is God’s will: that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good.  ¹⁶Do this as free people, and do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but use it as servants of God.  ¹⁷Honor everyone.  Love the brotherhood.  Fear God.  Honor the king. (EHV)

As aliens in the world, we live to serve God.

Dear fellow redeemed

            Aliens!  That word has more than a few negative connotations in our country today.  Truth be told, though, it always has.  Most cultures around the world have had a distrust of the foreigner, the person who looks or acts differently than the native peoples.  Of course, some of that negativity comes from a history of foreign populations invading a country either to spy on them or to conquer as the case may be.  Still, international trade would never have happened without someone foreign coming into a nation, so from an earthly standpoint, it is usually a mixed blessing.

Of course, as we read Peter’s message this morning, we need to understand that his words have nothing to do with politics or protecting our home turf.  Rather, Peter is recognizing that when Jesus made us His disciples, He made us citizens of His heavenly Kingdom which makes us aliens to the world.  We are no longer the same as we were.  No longer do sin and Satan rule over us.  No longer does the devil have a claim to our souls.  Furthermore, because Jesus lived and died for every sinner of every time and place, His Father in heaven “wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.  For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:4-5)

Peter wrote, “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and temporary residents in the world, to abstain from the desires of the sinful flesh, which war against your soul.”  The people to whom Peter wrote lived in a world that was awash in immorality.  Between the idol worship of the pagan culture, the devaluation of human life, widespread slavery, and the rampant and readily available prostitution, most of the world those early Christians lived in was very unlike the pure life God commands.  So, how was a Christian to live in such a place and how are we to live is a similarly immoral world?  Peter’s words tell us that for Christians in such a place, consider yourselves aliens, then As aliens in the world, we live to serve God.

Once again, I must admit that the idea of people as aliens carries a lot of baggage in our times.  The question is why?  Israel had long been taught to respect the alien and sojourner for they had lived as such for four hundred years of slavery in Egypt.  Again, for the very same reason Peter tells us to live as aliens.  The corruption of our sinful nature makes us eager to continue in the immoral ways of the world.  We have a natural attraction to sin which is enhanced when we dwell among the disobedient and rebellious against God.  Satan has a hay day in tempting a sinner to continue to sin, but Christ has delivered us from slavery to sin and death.

You see, everything changed when the Lord purchased our souls from the devil’s control.  Our allegiance therefore must change.  In our new citizenship, we need to realize that we are precious to the Lord, so much so that He was willing to give His life to set us free.  Right along with that, having set us free from the tormentor’s grip, it is God’s will that we be free from evil.  Therefore, being immersed in the evil world, we need to make some choices.  Thankfully, we have the Holy Spirit on our side, moving believers to live for the Lord Jesus who gave us holiness through His sacrifice on the cross.

As we observe cultures in the world, we might ask how aliens live in the various places.  Do they try to blend in so well that they go unrecognized as aliens?  Is it possible this is what Peter meant?  Or, do they keep themselves so separate from the general populace that they can be completely ignored?  Well, it is obvious that neither of those would be what our Lord desires.  In fact, Jesus said, “Let your light shine in people’s presence, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)  Likewise, here, Peter writes, “Live an honorable life among the Gentiles so that even though they slander you as evildoers, when they observe your noble deeds, they may glorify God on the day he visits us.”  In His high priestly prayer, Jesus describes those who follow Him; “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” (John 17:16)

In Peter’s time, Christians were slandered, hated, persecuted, and condemned for refusing to honor the pagan gods or worship in emperor cults.  Therefore, the instruction given here by the Holy Spirit through Peter is that As aliens in the world, we live to serve God.  It is God’s will that sinners learn of His love and Jesus’ sacrifice to save sinners.  It is God’s will that we be in the world as His shining lights drawing others to His Light, which is Christ.

Consequently, if we live as the heathen and wicked do, they may welcome us with open arms, but it does absolutely nothing to lead them to Jesus.  And if we so immerse ourselves in wickedness that the wicked view us as one of them, when we try to lead them to the Good News, they will find us to be the hypocrites we would actually be.

Likewise, if we present ourselves as self-righteous judges looking for faults and sinners to condemn, we will receive only animosity at best.  Sometimes, it might feel like we are between a rock and a hard place.  Yet Peter confirms for us, there is a way.  Remember the story of the Good Samaritan, he didn’t ask whether the injured man was a fellow countryman, he simply stopped and gave his time and money to rescue the injured one.  We, of course, recognize that this represents Jesus who did everything to rescue us from the robber who injured our souls.  At the same time, it does show us that we can and should be concerned for the welfare of those around us, yet humbly and generously so.

Therefore, considering our text, we realize that we are to live in the world but as servants of the Lord who purchased us from the kidnapper, the old evil foe.  Christ Jesus has covered us with His righteousness, so we don’t serve Him to earn our place in His home.  Still, it is through our connection with Jesus that we live.  Therefore, when we live humbly according to the law and with concern for our fellow man and obedience to all our God has instructed us, even the wicked world begins to notice. 

Remember the great commission, “Gather disciples from all nations by baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and by teaching them to keep all the instructions I have given you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)  We draw others to ourselves through relationships made here on earth, but only with sharing the Word of our God through these relationships.  We likewise instruct in all things not only by telling but also in how we live.

Sometimes, we would like to have exact instructions in how to respond in every situation, but a lengthy list of commands will help us little.  Rather, the Lord says, “Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the king as the supreme authority or to governors as those who have been sent by him to punish those who do what is wrong and to praise those who do what is right.  For this is God’s will: that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good.”  Remember, Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.  I did not come to destroy them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17)  Jesus, the King of all creation submitted Himself to every earthly authority as He lived for us on earth.  Therefore, as we live respecting the authorities God places over us while also obeying God’s law, what will be seen by the people around us is Jesus’ righteousness reflected in us.

Peter wrote, “Do this as free people, and do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but use it as servants of God.  Honor everyone.  Love the brotherhood.  Fear God.  Honor the king.”  As redeemed Christians, we are free from the law, free from condemnation, free from terror of judgment.  But the sinners and unbelievers around us do not yet enjoy that freedom.  They need to see humble submission to God as a good thing.  Therefore, as we live in this broken world, we will live, not as rabble rousers, nor as terrorists seeking to destroy those we dislike, neither will we hide ourselves away, nor will we pretend to a self-righteousness that we have never possessed.  Instead, we are to live our lives in such a way that people see Jesus and His perfect love reflected in our love for others and our humility before authority while maintaining allegiance and obedience to God.

Dear friends, as I write this, and as I speak it to you this morning, it all sounds rather complicated.  Still, we can sum up the instructions with a few simple ideas.  We are to dwell in this world without participating in its evils.  We live here as ambassadors for Jesus who truly has paid the penalty of death for the whole world and who dearly desires that the whole world would believe in Him for forgiveness and salvation.  We will let our lights shine in the darkness, not as arrogant searchlights seeking evil, but beacons of hope pointing to Jesus as our Savior and Redeemer. 

Then, having been set apart from the world by the life and faith worked in us by the Holy Spirit through Word and Sacrament, we will live for Jesus, for As aliens in the world, we live to serve God.  Amen.

God be merciful to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us, that Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.  Amen.